Dot Hack: Encryption
by Kenjiro Akisama
Summary: [On Hold Lost Interest but still going to continue] 2030, The World is now widely played and is considered the most popular online game on the planet. Follow the adventures of Ken along with Diannah, an A.I. of human caliber, and his friends.


**Author's Notes: **Hello all. This is Kenjiro Akisama and this is my first attempt in writing a _Dot Hack Fan Fiction._ I am not new to writing Fan Fictions I did one for Naruto (which is still on-going) and one for Ragnarok Online (had to stop it since I lost my will in writing it).

I hope you would enjoy my work the way I enjoyed writing it. This is not a one-shot fic and is based on the game. The settings of the fic is of the far future of Dot Hack (estimated time line is 2030) where The World is the number one Online Game on the planet. There will be some elements from other MMORPG's in this fic since I'm a fan and player of some of them. Also, there will be no YAOI in the fic. Not that I hate it, its just I'm not fond of it.

Anyhow, thank you for taking the time in reading my work and I hope you enjoy.

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_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Dot Hack or any other MMORPG's that may appear in the story. I however own the plot and any other ideas, about and presented, in this story. Character names that may exist in the real world have no relation in this fic and are purely coincidental._

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_Dot Hack Fan Fiction_

_(Based on the PS2 Game)_

**Dot Hack: Encryption**

**Episode 1: The Millennium A. I. Core**

The sun was now up, clearly indicating that lunch time is now the course of the meal. Though it is, a single figure lay on its bed covered by blankets from head to toe, sleeping soundly as if not caring for the world it is living in. Feint snoring sounds could be heard inside the room emanating from the sleeping figure.

Across the room, leaning against the wall, is a Personal Computer of high caliber. That is if you would look at it in a different perspective like its processing power and other technicalities. But if you will look at it at how it looks, you will find it a little intimidating.

Wires and various computer parts stuck out from the main CPU. Different wires and cables were attached from the CPU to other devices which are beyond recognition of what it is. If one would look at it, it would certainly pass as the "messiest piece of trash" in the world.

On the monitor of the said device, a program is silently running. The low humming of the CPU serves as its grunts as millions of bytes of data are being processed by the said program. A progress bar indicating its progress indicates a progress percentage of ninety-nine percent. And slowly, the bar reaches its mark and announces one-hundred percent completion. This was soon followed by beeps which would let the one who programmed it know of its project completion.

The mentioned programmer stirred from its slumber under the covers of its blanket. Slowly peeking from the blanket cover, the figure slowly opened its still sleepy eyes revealing a pair of ocean blue pupils matched by an unruly mess of short blonde hair and a fair complexion. From its facial features, the owner of the said face is a man, more specifically, a teenager.

Yawning, the blond-haired teen stretched his limbs to awaken himself further. Blinking a couple of times, the blond smiled to himself. _"Ah finally! The program analysis is finished! Better find out what is in that core…"_ he thought to himself.

Taking the blanket off of his body, the blond-haired teen slowly moved towards his computer and sat down on a chair just in front of it. Looking at the statistics of the data report, a wide grin spread across his face.

"Amazing! An Artificial Intelligence core-matrix in its purest form! I didn't believe this thing exists!" the blond exclaimed out load. Looking at the other part of the data report, a thoughtful look came to pass on the blonde's facial features. "Hmm… The core-matrix seems to be divided into two parts, The MENT Lobe which takes up almost eighty percent of the core and the EMOT Lobe which takes up the remaining twenty percent." he said to himself. "This seems to be the first time I've encountered this."

Still examining the data report, he found out that both lobes work in processing data together. A few more clicks and a minute more of reading, he has everything he needs to know about the core. "Hmm… There is only one more thing left to try I guess." and with that, he clicked the button "Learn"

"There, that should do it. I never thought an A.I. core-matrix could learn on its own while still accepting manual inputs. This is a new feature indeed, not only a pure core-matrix but also a learning one. Now, what will I have for breakfast?" He looked up at the clock and smiled. "Or better yet, what will I have for Lunch?" he once again said to himself as he stood up and went to the kitchen. A little while after leaving, a window popped up on the screen.

_Resource Checking Done_

_Data Learning Process Initiated_

_Master Command Protocols Initiated_

_Master Name Code: Ken Loneshore_

_Master Name Code Information Encrypted_

_Data Gathering and Assimilation Process Initiated_

_Local Input Accumulation Done_

_Visual Features and Structure Rendering Initiated_

_Global Knowledge Assimilation Started_

_Estimated Time of Completion: 1 day 5 hours 30 minutes_

----

At the kitchen the blond-haired teen was preparing a sandwich when a cell phone placed on top of the kitchen counter suddenly rang. Immediately, he answered it. "Hello? This is Ken Loneshore speaking."

"_Ken! Why in the world are you still there? Have you forgotten that we have a league game in one hour?!"_ the voice of a man in obvious panic sounded from the other line. Immediately, the blonde's face was marked with horror.

"Oh damn! I'm sorry John I forgot! I was analyzing a core last night that I overslept." He answered.

"_You what?! You better get here Ken and fast or we are going to get disqualified! I so want that new game for the 1st place and we have no chance without you!"_ John exclaimed once again.

"I know John. I want that game too! Heck, I've been longing for it since its closed beta announcement. I'll be there in a flash. Tell them to save the game for us." Ken roared as he jumped and ran to the front door unlocking it, then proceeding to run on the street towards where the league will be held.

----

It took Ken Loneshore approximately fifty minutes of running to get to his destination, and that is the "Chaos Tavern", a computer gaming shop where the league is to take place. Up front, Ken is greeted by two persons, a male with brown hair and black pupil eyes, and a girl with jet black hair and a contrasting emerald green pupil eyes. Both wearing casual clothes and looking rather relieved that Ken has arrived with ten minutes to spare.

"I'm glad you made it Ken. Though I had to ask, what happened to you? You looked like you ran from Africa, around the globe, and back." The teen boy teased.

Ken who was panting for air took a few minutes to answer his friend's question. "No John, more like from earth, to the moon, and back."

The girl by John's side giggled at Ken's comment eliciting a smile from both Ken and John. "Well it's all good then. That may explain why you are lacking air." The girl spoke in a soft but audible voice.

"Well Sandra, I wouldn't want us to not play that game. Come, our prize is waiting for us." Ken said with a smile of pure confidence and determination.

Both his friends gave the same smile and nodded to Ken before entering the computer gaming shop.

----

Twelve grueling hours after the tournament started, the team of Ken, John, and Sandra had a tired but yet a cherry smile on their faces. And who wouldn't have such smiles if you managed to win every single battle totaling of thirty-six battles, each ranging from nineteen to twenty-one minutes long.

The game that is used to determine the victor was an old online 2D RPG game which was widely popular during it's time. The game has different classes ranging from Lord Knights, Assassin Crosses, High Wizards, etc. It was a good online game but the developers have left it to die in the advancement of MMORPG's to create other more advanced MMORPG's that can compete in the nationwide market. Since then, hackers have tried to emulate the game using wits and gathering resources almost competing with the original server if not better. Ken himself hosts the same MMORPG with his own tweaks and enhancements on his PC with a minimum of one-thousand players online all the time.

"Whew! That last game was a close one! If you hadn't killed that nearly God-like High Priest, we could have lost Ken." Sandra exhaled tiredly.

"Yeah Ken, that sure is close! Good thing you thought of inserting status inducing cards on your main gauche! If not for the silencing effects, he could have healed those vitality type Lord Knights." John joined in with a smile on his face.

Ken laughed. "Nah! It was our job combination that pulled us through that one. If not for Sandra's Charge Attacks, the priest wouldn't have been separated from those Vitality Type Knights and if not for the tanking power as well as dodging power of your Hybrid Knight John, I wouldn't have been able to kill that priest. It's all because of team effort that we won guys. That and we were lucky the priest used up his green potions from their previous match." Ken said with a tone of respect. This earned him big grins from his friends.

"Heh! Always the humble one…" John and Sandra intoned simultaneously, both still beaming with smile.

The three kept chatting when suddenly, a man wearing casual clothes interrupted their conversation. "Ken, you and your team is up next. It's the final round, The Shadow Dragons versus The Chaos Project

"We're coming Mr. Jamie!" the three answered in unison.

After hearing the announcement and Mr. Jamie walking out towards the gaming area, Ken took on a serious look on his face. "I was hoping not to face them and more importantly not in the finals… But I guess I won't be feeling this way if I didn't think they were good."

"What's the matter Ken are they that good? Do you know them?" Sandra questioned knowing the serious look on Ken's face meant trouble is on the horizons.

"They're not just good, they are the best that I have ever seen play the game. In fact, they or should I say we, were the ones that formulated the strategy we are using right now." Ken uttered with slight discomfort and nostalgia in his tone.

John moved behind Ken and patted him on the back. "Then I guess we just have to give it our best then. Besides, let us show them the power of the strategy you have created with them." John uttered to Ken with a determined grin on his face.

Ken looked at his friend and smiled warmly. "Actually, I modified that strategy by using a Hybrid Knight and a Dexterity-Agility-Vitality Hybrid Sniper to cope up with yours and Sandra's playing styles. And by far, it is in perfect sync with my Agility-Vitality Hybrid Assassin Cross. A team based on Pure Strategic Offense."

"Then there is nothing to worry about! I trust in you Ken. You are the best when it comes to leading a strategic offensive. I wouldn't want to be on any other team besides yours. I even turned down the Onslaught Team's offer for a place in their group. And people say they are the best team in this league."

Ken looked at his friends' smiling faces which elicited a smile on his own. "Thanks for the confidence boost guys."

"We're just stating facts my friend, nothing more nothing less." John continued while the three went towards the gaming section of the shop.

----

At the gaming section, people were all-over the place waiting for the final battle to begin. Upon Ken's team arrival, the crowed started to cheer their names and wished them good luck. Well most of the male population wished Sandra good luck since she was the only female there. A good female player with good looks never goes unnoticed is what they say and apparently has been proven true. This made John on the other hand jealous.

It was a known fact between Ken and John that John likes Sandra even before they met in real life, though he never admitted it to her. They were guildmates in the game they are going to play right now on Ken's server and were pretty close. That closeness carried on to real life when by stroke of chance when Sandra's parents decided to move on John and Ken's neighborhood.

Ken saw John's face and snickered. "You know, it helps if she "knows" you know."

John gave a threatening look at Ken that promised pain and suffering which Ken only laughed at. This on the other hand caught Sandra's attention. "Why are you laughing Ken Loneshore?" Sandra asked with a raised right eyebrow which only accentuated her beauty more.

"Oh it's nothing, just clearing tension from the body, right John?" Ken asked the still glaring John.

Looking Sandra's way, John immediately turned docile and blushed. "Yup! Just clearing the tension from the body like Ken said. He! He! He!" John replied while scratching the back of his head still blushing.

Sandra looked at them one more time before shrugging and proceeding to her seat. Ken and John looked at each other and nodded before taking their seat. Sandra was now sitting at Ken's right with John on his left. But before Ken could sit on his chair, he felt a gentle tap on his back. Whirling around to face who ever it was calling for his attention, he saw three familiar faces with smiles on them.

"Good luck Ken! It's a shame that we are facing each other in the finals when we could have been in it as a team." The green-eyed blond teen said while extending his hands in a friendly gesture.

Ken smiled and he too extended his hand to accept his. "Well, we have different views that would clash with each other. I went on with my idea as well as you went with yours. This final battle will test our theories then. It really doesn't matter who wins or looses, as long as we have fun. That is the key point in this league after all Jess."

Jess smiled. "That is where we can both agree my friend. That is were we can both agree."

"Good luck my friend!" Ken uttered while looking at his friend with outmost respect.

"Same to you as well my friend." Jess replied with same respect Ken held for him.

Jess and his team went on to their respective seats while Ken took his in between his two teammates. Ken and his team logged in to their accounts and entered their characters consisting of an Assassin Cross, a Lord Knight, and a Sniper. Jess and his team did the same, their team consisting of a Stalker, a Champion, and a Lord Knight.

And with that the final battle starts.

----

Kensho Agizuki the Assassin Cross (Ken Loneshore) along with Blaze Mishima the Lord Knight (John) and Reika Mito the Sniper (Sandra) all spawned at the lower part of the map while Sasiki Warashi the Lord Knight (Jess) along with Crimson Hell the Rogue (Roy) and Monky the Champion (Robert) spawned at the upper part of the map.

The map is relatively small with a few objects on it to take cover and what not. The Game Master entered the map and signaled the start of the match. Ken's team immediately took the higher ground and established formation. Not long after, Jess' team showed themselves charging head on.

"What are they doing? Are they commencing a Kamikaze Attack?" John uttered to his team.

"No, I don't think that is their plan. Keep your heads up!" Kensho commanded his team which they took in quickly.

Without warning, the rogue on the other team disappeared out of thin air while the champion made a dash on the west.

"Damn! I should have known that was their battle plan! They are going to surround us and will try to separate us from each other! John, Sandra! Stick together and never leave each other's sight. Use the Sight Magic in 3 seconds! Engage the knight now. Don't let it get near! "Ken ordered while making his character vanish using his Cloaking Skill.

Following their orders, Sandra and John opted to use long range attacks at the incoming knight, Sandra using her Double Strafe skill and Charge Attack skill while John used his Spear Boomerang skill. Approximately 3 seconds, Sandra used the Sight Skill on her Clairvoyant Clip but was too late.

The rogue was already near them and they were late to react. Using his Intimidate skill, the rogue transported to a random part of the map with Sandra in tow.

"Damn! He got me!" Sandra roared in anger.

"Stay calm Sandra, just keep that rogue away as much as possible." Ken said while moving in towards Sandra's location.

Sandra managed to send the rogue away with a couple of Charge Attacks but not without taking damage from a couple of Backstabs from the rogue. "Wow! That's one tough defense!" Roy the rogue Crimson Hell said with an amused expression on his face. He looked at Robert his champion companion and got himself a nod.

John and Ken arrived at Sandra's position but were too late. The champion who dashed to the west appeared near Sandra and unleashed its most powerful skill, The Asura Strike. A skill capable of dealing huge amounts of damage at the cost of the entire player's Spiritual Points. The announcement came off and with that, the loss of one member from Ken's team.

"I'm sorry guys…" Sandra uttered softly in the verge of tears and disappointment in her tone.

"Don't worry about it Sandy, we can still get this. John Ice Pike now! Freeze that champion!" Ken let out.

John nodded and shifted his weapon into a Quadruple Ice Pike and with a prayer fired off with his Spear Boomerang skill.

As if the heavens were rooting for Ken's team, the attack hit its mark and with it, turning the champion into a huge block of ice. Ken immediately Back Slides towards the champion, an advance player skill which is hard to execute considering lags and other network factors, and upon nearing unleashed the dreaded Enchant Deadly Poison skill.

With a battle cry, Ken unleashed another skill worthy of an Assassin Cross. The eight hit skill Sonic Blow. Combined with the Enchant Deadly Poison skill, the Sonic Blow decimated the champion in seconds which triggered the announcement of the loss in Jess' team.

Not wasting time, Ken immediately moved to engage the moving knight towards their position. _"I only have a little more second before this Enchantment wears off. Plus, there is only one bottle left of the deadly poison for one more damage burst."_ Ken thought

The knight seeing Ken's approach and with the knowledge of what the Enchant Deadly Poison can do, used a very frightening skill of the Lord Knights, the Berserk skill, making his life double and increase in attack speed.

_"Damn! Even with my damage output, it will be hard to chip off that Hit Point!"_ Ken cursed in his thoughts.

But the dilemma didn't end there for at the next moment; the rogue appeared beside John and started stripping John's armor and weapons.

"Ah! Get off me!" John exclaimed while using his Spear Stab skill in an attempt to push the rogue back. But due to his panic, John forgot to shift weapons thus missing the rogue completely enabling the rogue to strip John's armor, shield, helmet, and weapon.

The Lord Knight by now has reached John and started to attack him while still in his berserk state. With no defensive equips, there was nothing to hinder the damage output of Jess' Lord Knight's attack resulting in the fast depletion of John's Hit Points.

Ken, using his Cloaking ability, appeared next to the rouge and started his attack. Though the Enchant Deadly Poison skill has faded, the damage output is still overwhelming and due to the fact that rogue's focus was on John, Ken depleted the rogue's Hit Point to zero announcing the loss of another teammate of Jess.

However, John soon followed for Jess' knight with its high attack speed from the Berserk State put his Hit Points down to zero. This in turn announced the loss of another teammate of Ken.

_"I guess it's just you and me then"_ both Ken and Jess thought at the same time.

Ken knew that the Berserk skill will soon pass and that Jess will deteriorate in Hit Points. He wanted to run back and wait for a chance but a Lord Knight riding a Peco Peco would be hard to outrun. He can't afford for a hit and run tactic for it would result in a disadvantage given the attack speed of a berserk Lord Knight. That and the fact that Ken had used almost all of his Spiritual Points from Cloaking and the occasional Sonic Blows also added to dilemma. Added to it is the loss of all his healing items.

Jess is pretty much in the same boat but with simpler reasons. A Lord Knight in a Berserker mode looses all his Spiritual Points and looses Hit Points per second. With his Hit Point only a little higher than Ken, there is no way he can afford to run away to regroup. As an added bonus, a Lord Knight in Berserker mode cannot use any healing and spiritual restoring items

With one thought running through their heads, the two charged at each other head on for a classical confrontation, a battle of damage and hit points.

With each passing damages, the spectators looked on. Both eliminated players from each side rooted for their team leader. The tension inside the shop is so thick that you could cut through it with a butter knife.

But like all battle, monstrous or epic, must come to an end. And with that thought, both characters delivered the final blows which resulted in a historical conclusion. Both characters landed final hits and thus the collapse of both characters reaching zero hit points. The announcement script is triggered and with it sealed the historical event. The battle has come to a draw.

Cheers roared inside the shop. Not one expected the ending but nonetheless, it was an exciting match. Ken and Jess both had a smile on their face as they slowly face each other. Happiness and respect both marked their faces.

"What can I say...? I guess we both were proven true after all." Jess said while extending a hand towards Ken.

Ken smiled and reached for the offered hand. "I believe so too my friend."

----

And so, the prize awarding came. Mr. Jamie was stuck in a stump when the result came and so was the competitors since there were only three units for the prize.

It was Jess who decided that Ken's team should get the prize since he and his team already had the system. They just joined the tournament to test their skills once again and that they really like the game. Ken argued at first but in the end, got the prize since Jess presented a viable argument. The jabbing on the ribs with an elbow by John and Sandra also helped in Ken's "undivided" decision.

And so, Ken's team gained the prize. Three units of the newest and state of the art PC's capable of playing the massive and as of yet, most popular, online game in the world, the MMORPG "The World". A product developed by the world's leading gaming team CC Corp. Ken and his team couldn't help but smile at the prize they have just received.

And with every gathering, it must come to a close. It was already 1:00 am and players from the league started to went home. Some stayed and chatted with Ken about the upcoming expansion he was about to install in his server which he pretty much answered without giving away much information. With everything out of the way, the three friends look at each other and smiled.

"Well it was a fun league guys but I have to go home now. I still have that core that I need to attend to and this "baby" to set up at home. Maybe I could even try it out for a little bit." Ken uttered while looking at his prize.

John and Sandra chuckled at this. "You sure are excited. Well I think I'll retire for the morning and set it up maybe after lunch. I'll call you up when I have it set-upped Ken so we can play together in later. What about you Sandy?" John inquired their female raven-haired friend.

"Maybe I'll let Rachel or dad set it up for me later after lunch since they pretty much know how to already." Sandra answered.

Her statement however caught Ken's attention. "Know "how to" already? What do you mean?"

Sandra looked at Ken and smiled a sheepish smile. "Well, father already bought one of these already for Rachel. He was insisting on buying one for me too but I told him that I already am having one since I'm entering the league so he just bought one for Rachel and himself. You know father, still a kid at heart. Plus father is already a high leveled character in The World since you know where he works."

Ken and John both nodded in approval. They already knew that Sandra was one of those in the upper class family and that her father worked for CC Corp. but chose to live a low profiled life. They never let such things bother each other since they very much enjoy each other's company and that Ken and John never were the ones to take advantage of people, a trait which Sandra liked about her two male friends. Not to mention their cherry attitude and positive outlook in life, that and their common enjoyment, role playing games.

"So your father is home at the moment then. That explains the new ride I presume?" Ken said while pointing to a red convertible parked at the front of the "Chaos Tavern".

Sandra smiled a wide smile and nodded. Sandra's father comes home from Japan once every month and spends at least a week with his two beloved daughters. A very commendable feat considering the work he has to do at CC Corp. and all that. Sandra being the youngest tends to almost get what she wanted but being an understanding daughter, never really pushed that far. She wanted to earn what she wants and often time gets them through hard work and perseverance which Ken and John praised her for.

"I happy for you then, you've been wanting to have a ride since third year and well, now you have one. A very good one if I may add." John spoke while smiling.

Glancing at his watch, Ken decided that it was already too late and he needed to get home. "Well guys, I think it's time for us to go on our separate ways. I'll see you all tomorrow inside The World." Ken said with a smile while preparing to embark on his journey towards home.

"Hey don't tell me you will go home carrying that thing! That weighs a lot and you mean to tell me you're going to walk home with it?" Sandra asked in disbelief.

Ken looked at her and scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "Well, I left my bike at home since I was in a hurry. Besides, I never knew that the game will come with a system. I thought I was just getting the software."

"You never ceased to amaze me Ken. I didn't bring a ride myself but that's because I only live two blocks from here. For someone who is cut out to be a leader, you sure leave out the common things." John uttered with a sigh and received a sheepish chuckle from Ken.

"Well come along then! I'll take you two boys home. Not exactly a gentleman's way but I guess it will do for now." Sandra commented while giggling.

"Hey! I resent that!" Ken exclaimed with a blush on his face.

"I'm just kidding!" Sandra replied with a laugh.

Soon, the three went to Sandra's new car and went on their way home.

----

Upon arriving home, Ken immediately went to his room bringing along his hard earned prize. Inside, he started setting up the system which took him at least ten minutes since most parts were already assembled and that he only needed to connect wires and other external devices. He also took the liberty of plugging his new system to his network, a network he was very pleased of. He started the system and left to get a late dinner at the kitchen on the first floor of his apartment.

Coming up the stairs to his room with a tray of food, he sat down on a chair in front of his new system and watched it as it booted up. "Hmm… ALTIMIT MINE OS… I heard so much about this, promising software I say. I better scan this one and maybe get ideas to further mine." Ken said to himself.

Another second passed and the system has now booted and on the welcome screen. Ken entered the system and from there tinkered with it a little. Satisfied with it, Ken selected The World Icon and proceeded to run the software of The World. Not long, a welcome screen popped up on the monitor.

_Thank you for purchasing The World Client. What would you like to do?_

The screen had two choices; the "Sign in as a New User" and the "Sign in using an existing account". Ken clicked the "Sign in as a New User" button and was presented with a new set of choices; "Sign in on the Web" and "Sign in using a Registered Key Code provided with the box". Ken selected the latter and typed his Key Code in it. A new message window popped up.

_Thank you for registering your 7 day trial account. If you wish complete your registration, please click "Full Registration" otherwise; click "Ok" to continue._

Ken thought for a moment but then settled for a full registration. This brought him to another pop-up window requiring information about him and his credit card number which he filled out correctly. The system verified if his information were true and after a while, accepted his registration.

With everything now set-upped accordingly, he was now prompted to another window for a Username and a Password which he provided to his liking.

_Username: ZeroRush_

_Password: XXXXXXXX_

_Confirm Password: XXXXXXXX_

After accomplishing the needed requirements, a window popped up welcoming him to The World and shortly brought him to the character selection screen.

"Ah! Finally! Now what to choose?" Ken said to out loud while browsing through a set of character classes. After a while of browsing and reading to character specifics, his eyes settled on the Blademaster.

"_Hmm… A balanced character… This would bode well with my playing style. I would like to be a Twin Blade since it resembles an Assassin but I think I will go on with a sword wielding character this time. Reminds me of the movie I watched with those "Light Sabers". This class could also pass as a knight which is cool. And since this is a free form RPG, I could pretty much play any role I would like with this class since it's a flexible class."_ Ken thought to himself with a smile on his face.

After choosing a character class, the system asked for a character name which he provides with a smile. "Well why change old habit?" he asked to no one in particular and typed the very first name he could think off.

_Character Class: Blademaster_

_Character Level: 1_

_Character Name: Kensho Agizuki_

_Character Gender: Male_

After filling out the forms, Ken went on the character creation screen which showed a wide array of character looks and outfits. After browsing through the outfits, Ken found nothing to suit his tastes.

_"Hmm… What to do? Well I could "inject" an outfit myself from one of my 3D models. Though I think it would only be visible to me since it would be pretty much client-side editing. The other players of the world would only view me as another normal outfitted character."_ Ken thought to himself. Then a grin spread up on his face. _"Heh! I just got the game and I'm already hacking it… Oh man, I guess old habits die hard…"_ he followed and pulled up a menu from another terminal in his network.

Loading up the 3D modeling software, he browsed through his collection and found the one he was looking for. A well-developed figure with a fair complexion wearing a black sleeveless skin tight shirt with a grey baggy cargo pants. Metal plates adorned its black and white shoes which resembled that of an old style rubbers shoes from the 90's called the eleventh shoes of his "air-ness". The figure also wore blonde hair with a twelve inch pony tail along with a few bangs that covered the face, and a pair of striking ocean blue eyes. On the figure's left arm is a silver metal armor that covered the whole length of its left arm and on the hands is a silver metal gauntlet. The figure pretty much resembled him in more ways than one and he was highly proud of this one model of him.

_"Ha! I pretty much put myself into the game!"_ he thought with a smug look on his face.

Pulling up another program from the menu, he then proceeded to "inject" the 3D model into The World client program which went well much to Ken's surprise. "Huh? No resistance? That's kinda odd for something sophisticated like this…" Ken said to himself while scratching the back of his head in confusion.

Deciding that it is best to consider this event by luck, Ken went back to the new terminal and browsed the character creation screen. Sure enough, he came up to the model he "injected" which brought back the smug look on his face.

Clicking the accept button, The World Client popped out a window indicating for him to put on the VR helm to start playing. "Well… Here we go!" Ken uttered and placed the VR helm on his head.

Unknown to Ken, the main terminal of his network where the A.I. core is running started to react to the new addition to the network.

_New Resource Detected_

_Pausing Global Knowledge Assimilation_

_Local Input Accumulation Restarted_

_Local Data Gathering and Assimilation Process Re-initiated_

_Local Input Accumulation Done_

_Local Data Gathering and Assimilation Process Done_

_Continuing Global Knowledge Assimilation_

_Estimated Time of Completion: 15 hours 30 minutes_

----

There was a white flash which made Ken close his eyes for a second. When the flash ended, Ken slowly opened his eye and was soon awestruck at what he saw.

He was in a 3D environment rendered to the highest quality and all around him looks real. There were other characters running around the town. Some chatting while the others are trading. Each character is unique with each other that you could distinguish them enough from each other quite noticeably. It was one of the most awesome experiences he ever felt.

He looked at himself and soon enough found his alterations to be there. _"Heh! I may be the only one to see it but it sure is an awesome attire!"_ Ken thought to himself. He couldn't believe but marvel at his looks for the details were quite exquisite. Every inch of his model was emulated that it's as if it's almost real. Looking at his left arm, he saw the armor that went along with the model and quite frankly, he was sure shocked to see it in this state of detail and focus. _"Damn this looks good! Too bad I'm the only one who can see it!"_

Ken was still examining himself when he heard a familiar voice calling his name, his real name. Whirling around to face the owner of the voice, he saw a figure of a heavy blade with brown hair and eyes with black pupils dressed in traditional heavy armor colored silver with black linings, complete with a black cape. Running along the heavy blade is another figure which looked like a female long arm dressed in pretty much the same silver and black lining armor but without a cape. She had jet-black hair and a pair or striking green pupils on her eyes.

"John? Sandra?" Ken questioned in disbelief.

When the two figures reached Ken, they both have smiles on their faces. "Well well well, you seem to stick with the system and used the same look-alike of your real self." the male heavy blade said without loosing the smile on his face. "Told you it was him Sandy, the blond hair already gave away much." he continued with a laugh.

Sandra eyed him from head to toe and gave a smile. "I must say you have tastes Ken. You have to be the most unique looking character I have ever since."

Ken could only blink with a surprised look on his face at that comment.

"Yeah, I have to agree with Sandy. I never saw that model on my browsing to the character creation screen. Where did you find it?" John inquired.

Ken's jaw dropped on that one. "You mean to tell me that you can actually see my character model? But that is impossible! Client alteration could only be viewed client-side, isn't it?"

Both Sandra and John exchanged confused looks. "Client-side alteration? What does that mean?" Sandra asked dumbly.

John pondering on what Ken said soon came to a conclusion. His eyes widened at what he learned. "Ken, you didn't?!" he exclaimed.

Ken looked at John and smiled sheepishly while scratching the back of his head. "He! He! I couldn't help it. There was no model that suits my taste."

Sandra became more confused with the situation. "Guys, could you please tell me what's going on?"

John looked at Sandra and smiled. "Well, apparently, old habits die hard. You see, Ken here "was" a hacker. He tampered with everything as long it's electronic. He modified things, for the better I might add, which really didn't bode well with developers."

"Oh, I see. So he was banned from using computers then because of hacking?" Sandra inquired.

"Well he was banned but not because of that. During our first year in high school, a virus went out of the computer lab that infected the whole state. Nobody knew who made the virus and why but a student suddenly accessed it thinking it was "porn". It affected every electronic device in the area that they went haywire." John said and looked at Ken who by now is turning red for what John is about to say. John's grin grew at this.

"The only way to stop the virus is to freeze everything it has affected simultaneously. The coder of the virus was an evil genius I say. So Ken did what he thought was right. He unleashed the "Negative Zero"."

Sandra's expression grew in shock. "The "Negative Zero"?! The one that wiped out the whole electronic system of the U.S. for five minutes?!"

John's grin grew wider as he nodded. "Yup, the very same. Ken here believed that the virus was being controlled remotely from a certain part in the U.S. but since the hacker's system was hard to pin-point, he had no choice or the chaos will continue to spread." John continued. Ken on the other hand by now was red all-over because of embarrassment.

"But that didn't end there. When the U.S. electronic devices were restored to its original state, the virus was no more. But since the "Negative Zero" took the system down for a time, Ken never got to set up his defense and was soon traced." John said with an angry expression on his face. "They said that Ken caused the virus in the first place and that he was covering it up. Plus, he caused a massive panic and chaos. Which, believe me, would have gone to catastrophic proportions if weren't for Ken. Those people just wanted someone to blame since they will appear weak to the other countries for being shutdown by a mere fifteen year old. And that is why he was banned to use a computer for three years." John paused and looked at Ken with a sly grin. "I guess Ken here ignored it and still continued to use them without being known."

Ken could only laugh a nervous laugh at that comment. Sandra on the other hand was looking at Ken with new and refined respect. "I didn't know you were the celebrity Ken."

Ken looked at Sandra and smiled. "Well, I just did what I believe was right." His facial features suddenly became sad. "I almost ended a life of a child though. When I unleashed the "Negative Zero", there was a child in the ICU that almost died because of the electronic shutdown. If something had happened to that child, I can never forgive myself." he continued. John and Sandra's face bore a compassionate expression. John moved close to Ken and placed an assuring hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it Ken. Who knows what might have happened if the virus reached her instead. It could have been worse. She might have not made it." John said with a compassionate smile. Sandra agreed with John with a nod. This then brought back the cherry smile on Ken's face.

Ken then realized something. "Say, didn't you two told me you'll be playing after launch? How come you both are here now?"

John and Sandra looked at each other and gave a smile. "We couldn't let you out level us now do we." they both answered in unison.

Ken chuckled at this. "Well I guess not. So, since I'm new here and you both obviously have tinkered with the controls already, why don't you fill me in?"

John shifted position and now faced his two companions. "Well for starters, let us have your member address and ours yours so that we could contact each other whenever we have to and also to check if anyone is online."

With that said, Ken exchanged member address with his two friends which took a second because Ken had to look for the menu where the member address is located. After that is done, John addressed the group once again. "Now since we have each others member address, we can now form a group. And as always, you Ken will be the leader." John explained. He then proceeded to instruct Ken on how to form a group.

When the group was formed, Ken waited for more instructions from John. "Now that we are set, let's go to a field and level up. Maybe we could even enter a dungeon to go and fetch what lies in it."

Ken then noticed something that he snorted. "That's not fair, you guys are already at level five each!"

John and Sandra both laughed at this. "We figured we get a head start on this one cause with you to consider, you'll be in a higher level in a matter of weeks." Sandra stated with a laugh which earned her another exasperated breath from Ken.

John looked at a rotating mirror filled with translucent blue glass behind him and looked back at Ken. "This Ken is the chaos gate, this is the transit points in the game where player characters go to travel between different parts of The World. Every town possesses a single chaos gate, and from this gate players can reach fields and other towns. You input keywords here and these keywords determine what field we are to go. For starters, input the keyword _Delta Beginning Grounds Adventure._ This is a beginner's field, we cleared most of the place but the dungeon. But since you are here, maybe we can clear it now."

And with that, Ken entered the keywords and went through the Chaos Gate with John and Sandra following closely behind.

----

Ken and the group then materialized in a plain field. "Hmm… Now where was it? Oh there! Let's go there to the cave there. That is the entrance to the dungeon here in this field." John said.

Sandra then halted the group. "Wait! Let's see if the field really is clear. Maybe the portals have re-opened. Ken here could level up a little before we enter the dungeon."

The two male in group nodded their approval and set off to find the portals on the field.

A couple of minutes more, they have cleared the re-spawned portals. Ken gained three levels while John and Sandra gained one each.

"Too bad those chests didn't contain rare items other than the ones that can be bought on the shops at town." John said while brandishing his big sword back on its place behind his back. "Well since that is done, lets head for the dungeon and hope for the best."

The three then went inside the dungeon to continue on their adventure.

----

After thirty grueling minutes of exploring the dungeon and killing monsters, they have reached the last level of the dungeon. In front of them is the last portal of the level. The only thing different about this place is that bits can be seen on the wall of the dungeon.

"Say, why can I see 1's and 0's on the wall?" John asked while observing the place.

"Hmm… Must be a glitch in the map. Well it's the last portal of the dungeon. Behind that entrance is the chest. After we get that we could retire for the morning and continue on playing after class. I would assume it's already 3:00 am and we still have classes at 2:00 pm." Sandra commented while she readied her pole axe, a weapon of the long arm.

"I don't know guys… Maybe we should turn back… I have a bad feeling about this…" Ken said in a serious tone while clutching his katana tightly.

"Relax Ken, of course that's what we should feel since this is the final battle of the dungeon. Come on, let's finish this and be on our merry way." John said while charging at the portal.

"John no!!!" Ken tried to stop his friend but was too late. He was already a foot away from the portal.

Reaching the portal, John waited for it to open and when it did, they were shocked to find a monster of high level appear in front of them. It was a hell hound but unlike any other hell hound this one was surrounded by data rings that are crackling like electricity. It swiped its paws at the approaching John which he ducked out of the way by rolling under the creature.

"What the hell is that thing?!" John exclaimed after recovering from his roll and taking on a fighting stance.

----

Back in the real world, Ken's main terminal monitor suddenly started flashing a warning message.

_Master Entity Life in danger!_

_Aborting All Processes_

_Initiating Protection Sequence: Maximum Level_

----

Back inside The World, Ken, along with John, and Sandra are having a hard time fending off the beast. "This has got to stop! I'm running low on items and I'm certainly running low on SP. Everything we throw at it, it brushes off. This mutated hell hound is going to wipe us out if we don't do something!" Sandra roared as she dodged another swipe from the mutated hell hound as they call it.

Ken dashed towards the beast's blind side while Sandra was pre-occupying it with dodging. Using a protrusion on the wall as a launching pad, Ken jumped through the air above the beast. From above, Ken could see a glowing crystal from the top of the monster's head. Without second thought, Ken descended downward towards the crystal, katana in hand, its tip pointed at the glowing crystal.

Sandra saw what Ken was up to and tried her best to pre-occupy the beast's attention. She succeeded and Ken thrusts his katana on the glowing crystal that sent the beast howling in pain. The beast trashed around wildly and with Ken loosing his grip, was soon sent crashing on a nearby wall. The beast, recovering from pain, soon fixed its attention on the still recovering Blademaster.

John sees that his friend was in trouble, attacked the beast to draw its attention away from Ken. Brandishing his huge sword at the beast wildly, he succeeded in hitting the beast on the side. The beast, noting the damage done by the Heavy Blade swiped its tail at John which sent him crashing on the ground.

Sandra charged and attacked the beast from behind with her pole axe but soon suffered the same fate as John when the beast whirled its tail at her position. With John and Sandra down on the ground and recovering from hurt, the beast continued its path towards the now limply standing Ken.

_"Damn this suck! First adventure and I'm already going to get my ass handed to me. But isn't this kinda extreme? My health is low and now my body is weak. CC Corp. sure did make this one realistic. I guess I'll just have to try again."_ Ken thought as he closes his eyes to prepare for the end.

"**_PhaRai Kruz!_**" a voice yelled followed by a great thunder storm engulfing the beast sending it howling in pain as it withdrew away from Ken.

"Master Ken! Hurry! Strike the beast while it is still weakened!" a voice of a woman yelled.

Ignoring the weakness he's feeling and the pain coursing through his body, Ken drew his katana and charged at the still howling beast. With a straight thrust of his katana, Ken pierced through the beast's chest. The force of the thrust broke Ken's blade from its handle sending Ken crashing once again on the ground.

With a last cry of pain, the beast disintegrated into data bits and soon dispersed from existence. Ken allowed himself a smile and soon dropped down to one knee from exhaustion. A glow surrounded his body indicating that he leveled up and is now a level ten Blademaster. _"Whew! That was close…"_ he thought as he falls down on his back.

Expecting to hit the floor, he was surprised when a pair of slender arms caught him and put him in a secure and comforting embrace. Turning to look at his aid, he was surprised to see a woman with an angelic face. Her hair is colored blond that are a little curly at the tips. Her eyes were soft and caring with striking green pupils. Her lips were red and had the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

Ken blushed at the sight of such beauty. Not to mention the fact that this goddess was hugging him allotted to the said blush he accumulated. "T-Thank you for helping us…" he muttered dumbly at her whom she returned with a nod and embracing him more tenderly.

"It's okay. I'm just glad I came in time to save you that's all." she replied in a melodious and soft voice, relief clearly detected in her tone.

Sandra and John soon joined them. Sandra had an amused expression on her face while John had a smug look on him. "Ahem!" John feigned cough to get his friends attention.

Ken, hearing John, blushed more and tried to straighten himself up which he found rather hard to do considering his current state. The woman halted Ken's pursuit to stand up seeing his discomfort. "Wait, you're still not fully recovered from the battle." the woman replied followed by chanting a healing spell which brought Ken to full HP. "There." she continued with the same beautiful smile on her face.

Ken blinked a couple of times before trying to straighten himself once again and found it easier to do so. Ken looked at the woman who helped him and gave her a smile. The woman in turn blushed at Ken's smile which put another set of amused looks on Sandra and John's faces.

Breaking the silence that surrounded them Ken spoke; "Thank you again for helping us. I am Kensho Agizuki and these are…" Ken paused as he looks at their names on his menu. "These are Blaze Mishima and Reika Mito."

The woman smiled and introduced herself to them. "It was no problem Master Ken. I am Diannah Winters and I am a Wavemaster." she introduced her self while bowing at them. "Are you injured Lady Reika, Sir John? Perhaps I can heal you if you'd like." she offered with a smile, though not the one she showed Ken but was still a beautiful and warm smile nonetheless.

John was about to answer when Sandra cut him off. "No we are fine Miss Diannah."

"Are you sure Lady Reika?" Diannah asked in confusion.

John was again about to answer but was soon silenced by a glare from Sandra, a glare that promised pain and suffering. "We are sure. Aren't we Blaze?" she asked with a tone that told John not to disagree. John could only sigh and nod while Ken chuckled at the two. Sandra glared at Ken but he paid no heed to it and looked back at the blond Wavemaster in front of them.

"So, let us go and get the treasure and get out of this dungeon. I think it would be much comfortable to talk in town than inside here." Ken addressed the group.

Everyone nodded and proceeded to enter the next room.

Inside, they were greeted by a statue and a chest up front. "Well since you are the one that defeated that Hell Hound, you might as well take the prize Ken." John said with a smirk.

"No, Diannah here is the one that really defeated the beast. Maybe she should be the one to get the treasure." Ken said with a smile and turn towards the blonde Wavemaster.

"No Master Ken, it is you who defeated the beast not me. I just simply helped. Go ahead and claim your prize." Diannah countered with a smile she held only when she talks to Ken.

With a nod of thanks and a smile, Ken went to the chest and opened it. Inside, he found a white glowing crystal and a multi-colored glowing crystal which he picked up and held in his right hand. "Hmm… A white crystal and a multi-colored one? I wonder what this is… Any ideas people?" Ken asked the group.

"The white one is Fusing Crystal and the other is an Elemental Crystal. Few have obtained such an item for it is quite rare." Diannah answered as she comes closer to Ken. "How the items are used, I don't know for I myself haven't obtained such an item before." she continued.

Ken examined the crystals a little more and then put them in his inventory. "Well, I think we're done here. Let's meet back in town." Ken decided which earned him nods from his companions.

Using a Sprite Ocarina, the group exited the dungeon and back into root town Mac Anu.

----

At the root town, the group separated for a while to store items and buy supplies except for Diannah who stayed by the Chaos Gate saying she doesn't have anything to do at the moment and she would wait here for the group to finish. About ten minutes, the group finished their task and soon met in front of the Chaos Gate.

"So, I think everything is good. We acquired quite a bit of level for the first run." Ken uttered with a smile. Ken is now at level ten with John and Sandra at level thirteen.

"Yeah, and it's a hard earned level I might say. Who would have thought we'll run into a high leveled monster on the first run. But I guess the rare item being inside the chest explains the monster. It must be an instance I suppose." John followed with a satisfied smile.

"Well, I don't know about you guys but I'm beat. Considering that run-in and how late it is, I'm kind of sleepy and tired. So I guess I'll retire to my bed." Sandra said with a yawn to emphasize her point.

The group chuckled at this. "Say, can I call you before you sleep Sandy? I forgot what our assignment in Biology class later was." John asked while scratching the back of his head. Sandra rolled here eyes.

"You are really a block head you know. You must have dozed again at Mrs. Gunderson's class. Very well, call me after three minutes. I still need to get to my room since I'm using Rachel's computer in her room. Bye guys! It was nice adventuring with you all and it was nice to meet you Diannah." Sandra said with a wave of her hand.

"The pleasure is all mine Lady Reika. Till we meet again, pleasant dreams to you." Diannah replied with a respectful nod. Sandra smiled once more and gated out.

"Well, like she said, it was fun. I hope we do it again soon. Here is my member address Diannah. Well, I have to go since I need to call her and get that assignment." John said while giving Diannah his member address.

"I hope we do meet again Sir Blaze. Goodbye and take care." Diannah uttered with the same respectful nod.

With a wave and a smile, John too gated out leaving Ken and Diannah on their own. "Well, I had a great time today. Thanks again for helping us Dianne. I can call you that can I?" Ken inquired with a sheepish grin.

"You can call me whatever you may want Master Ken." Diannah answered with that same smile she only seem to give Ken. Her answer on the other hand made Ken flush red earning him a giggle from the angelic blonde.

"Well, here is my member address in case you would want to adventure with me again." Ken said while giving his member address to Diannah.

"And here is mine Master Ken. And yes, I would love to go with you again." she answered while giving her member address to Ken. Her smiles made Ken almost want to stay rather than go and sleep. But alas, he has to or he will suffer the consequences of it in the afternoon at class.

"Well, thanks again Dianne. It was a pleasure to meet you." Ken said while he extended a hand towards her. Her next action surprised him to say the least.

Diannah went past the hand he extended and wrapped him in a warm embrace. "No Master Ken, the pleasure is all mine. I am just glad that you are safe and alright." she said while putting her head on his chest. Ken turned mighty red at this gesture but unknown to him, a single tear rolled down on Diannah's cheek.

Not knowing what to do, Ken returned the hug. They lasted like that for a few seconds before Diannah broke the hug and gave him that seem to be special smile. "You better go Master Ken. I believe you too have a class later." she said with smile.

Ken smiled back and nodded. "I'll see you soon! Take care of yourself Dianne!" Ken exclaimed and with a wave, gated out of The World.

"You too Master Ken Loneshore, take care of yourself." Dianne whispered to herself and then gated out.

----

In the real world, Ken removed the VR helm and stretched his limbs. Looking at the clock that registers 5:00 am, Ken sighed. "Well, at least it was a fun and an exciting adventure." Ken said to himself. "I also get to meet a beautiful PC. I wonder if I will get to see her again. I sure hope so!" he continued with a smile on his face.

Standing up from his chair, he walked up towards his bed and dropped down on it. With a smile, Ken soon drifted to a peaceful sleep.

A message then popped up on the main terminal of Ken's network.

_Protection Sequence: Successful_

_Continuing Global Knowledge Assimilation_

_Estimated Time of Completion: 9 hours 30 minutes_

_Testing Visual and Audio Mechanics: Done_

_Initializing Visual and Audio Mechanics: Done_

With that, a window appeared. At first, the window was black but soon, a familiar figure appeared on it. It was Diannah. The web camera that was on Ken's desk soon shifted position to focus on Ken's sleeping figure. A smile soon formed on Diannah's lips. The very same special smile she seems to give only to Ken. A written message soon appeared below Dianna's picture.

_Sweet dreams Master Ken… kiss_

**Dot Hack: Encryption**

**End of Episode 1: The Millennium A.I. Core**


End file.
